20 years later
They were late.
Temple hated when people were late. Didn't matter that she was always late. When other people committed acts against punctuality, she got pissed.
"Gonna miss the zeppelin," she muttered.
Bzzz. Bzzz. She waved a fly away.
Her inter-state transfer papers had been expensive, and she didn't like the idea of having to pay for them a second time, even if they were forged.
"Dammit." She tapped her eyelid, hoping to alleviate the slight sting behind it.
The composites gave her problems sometimes, but the advantages to having them far outweighed the discomfort. She glanced at her interface once more, noted the time, and swore like a new-found sailor. An old, cracked mirror hung on the wall, and she fleetingly took stock of her appearance:
Crazy, middle-aged lady, ranting and raving in a dilapidated room. The sight of her hair flying around her face spurred on laughter.
For a brief span, the reflection reminded her of years earlier----
"Please stay!"
----working as a cashier. Ancient thoughts for an ancient lady. But her old job had toughened her. The extra cash (stolen cash) had always been nice, too. Her mouth twitched in a smile.
I do look nuts. And mean.
Which were both good things. Intimidation translated into dependable and immediate payments. Temple had learned the art of meanness not just from retail, but from her boyfriend, Rush. He had motivated her to lie, steal, and harass. She required all three traits to survive. Poor Rush had never realized how good of a teacher he had been until Temple had kicked his pimply ass to the curb.
She stared at the zeppelins arriving and departing at the nearby station.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
The fly traipsed about the room, zooming a leisurely line to nowhere. Temple's mind wandered, and she thought of what her pal, Track, had told her: a composite fly had been printed once. Bullshit, she countered, but he swore it to be true. In the printing archives, only accessible to Prominents or hacks like him, he recalled the history of all composite prints. A fly was the first live print.
Suddenly, the dissipating doorway shimmered and came down. It its place stood two people Temple didn't recognize, which was a--
"Big fuckin' problem," she informed the strangers.
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The Dark ✔
الرعب[Previously FEATURED] Retail workers have the least chance of being haunted, hurt, or killed. At least, that's what three cashiers assume. When Temple, Marilyn, and Martine meet little Sienna, they find out how wrong they are about job security. S...
